Northeast Texas District Aims To Improve Energy Efficiency

Grand Saline Independent School District, located about 70 miles east of Dallas, has implemented $700,000 in facilities upgrades in order to improve operations and and efficiencies. The district contracted with TAC for improvements in lighting and energy efficiency, as well as a unified building management system (BMS) for the entire district.

"Our problems ranged from inconsistent lighting in our gym to a malfunctioning BMS in the new high school to the lack of a BMS on our other campuses," said GSISD superintendent Mark Keahey. "We also needed to comply with new state laws mandating that school districts reduce their energy consumption by 5 percent each year for the next six years, (but the state) had no plan in place to accomplish this. Through the performance contract, TAC provided solutions to resolve these problems and a method to pay for the improvements."

Once the contract has been fulfilled, the improvements will save GSISD 667,474 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, which is equivalent to planting 11,885 trees or avoiding 965,191 driving miles, said TAC VP of Sales Shon Anderson. The company estimates cost savings in the range of about $40,000 per year on utility costs. Under the contract, Dallas-based TAC, a division of Schneider Electric, guarantees the cost savings on energy and agrees to pay the difference if the amount is not realized.

About the Author

Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here.

Whitepapers

Success in a 1-to-1 environment depends on strong leaders who build a culture of innovation and collaboration. Learn the key things that you need to know for a successful 1-to-1 rollout at your school.
Read more...

If you have comments or questions about our magazine features or stories, please e-mail the editorial staff at editorial@thejournal.com. If you have any comments or questions about content found on this Web site, please e-mail David Nagel at dnagel@1105media.com. If you have any comments or questions about subscriptions, please e-mail THEJournal@1105service.com. Links to additional editorial, sales, and publishing contacts can be found here.
Contact the webmaster: [+] Site Feedback [+]